The post-2015 development agenda underpinned by the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement bring together the two grand frontiers - climate change and sustainable development.

Introduction

The Paris Agreement and Parties' commitments - the so-called Nationally Determined Contributions - will mean big changes for their trading partners as the effects of those commitments start playing out in trade flows and trade policies around the world. A spectrum of alternative ways of reacting to this new reality has already been foreshadowed by competitiveness concerns, with trade traditionally being treated as part of the problem. It is even more important is to take a closer look at the large - and largely unexplored - potential for trade to be part of the solution.

Response measures and tradeIn Paris, Parties agreed to continue addressing the economic and social impact of response measures to climate change, taking fully into account the special needs of developing countries. It was also agreed to continue with the work of the Forum on Response Measures. A three-year work programme, adopted in May 2016, focuses on "economic diversification" and on "a just transition of the workforce and the creation of decent work and quality jobs".

Historically related to compensation to oil-producing countries for not exploiting their reserves, the notion of response measures has evolved and is now seen in the context of sustainable development and as a form of international cooperation. Trade serves as a transmission mechanism for cross-border impacts and is traditionally seen through the lens of a competitive relationship, but it has an enormous cooperation potential, too. The challenge is to change the approach from one of allocating or shifting burdens among countries through trade restrictive measures, to figuring out ways in which trade could help all countries share the benefits of transforming their economies.

Implementing NDCs and leveraging the co-benefitsWith the development agenda becoming an increasingly important component of climate change mitigation, the scope for mutual supportiveness or, to put it in the IPCC parlance, complimentary benefits, or co-benefits is bound to increase. Policies with multiple benefits - co-benefits - including social outcomes can be an effective way to muster support for climate policies and achieve greater levels of ambition.

Along with finance and technology, trade acts as an enabler, cutting across the various domains relevant to climate policy and sustainable development. At the same time, climate policies can and do influence trade among countries, promoting more sustainable emission patterns and greater resilience for enterprises in particular for small businesses.

ActivitiesUNCTAD's activities relating to SDG 13 seek (i) to strengthen the capacity of beneficiary countries to address response measures in the context of sustainable development and as a form of international cooperation, and (ii) to explore the role of trade in implementing Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and in leveraging the various co-benefits, including economic and social outcomes.Analytical work has brought into focus (i) the role of value chains in the interface between response measures and trade, and (ii) trade-related measures in countries' NDCs.

A working paper, a study and a compendium produced under this stream of work served as a background documentation for an ad hoc expert group meeting, entitled: Implementing Paris Agreement: Response Measures, Economic Diversification and Trade, held in October 2017. The meeting brought together some of the key actors in the UNFCCC Forum on Response Measures and the three Geneva-based trade agencies - UNCTAD, WTO and ITC, with UNCTAD playing a coordinating role.

Following the meeting, UNCTAD organized informal consultations among the agencies concerned. In the run up to COP 23 in Bonn, UNCTAD made a formal submission to the UNFCCC relating to the Forum on Response Measures and its work programme.

During the high-level segment of COP 23, UNCTAD delegation, led by Deputy Secretary General, held a series of bilateral meetings, including with the Chair of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation, as special envoy of the Polish presidency for COP 24, and the coordinator of G-77 on response measures. UNCTAD, in cooperation with the UNFCCC and as part of the official COP 23 programme, also organized a special event, entitled: Economic Diversification, Just Transition of Work Force and Value Chains in the Context of Sustainable Development.

During the 11th Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires in December 2017, UNCTAD, in cooperation with the Commonwealth Secretariat, held a special event on climate change and trade.

News

Global demand for maritime shipping picked up last year, but the pace was still below the historical 3 per cent average and continued to lag behind supply, keeping freight rates and earnings low in most segments, a new UNCTAD report says.

The need for developing countries to diversify the portfolio of goods and services they produce has become even more pressing as governments move to act on the promises of the Paris climate agreement, UNCTAD Deptuy Secretary-General Isabelle Durant has told an international meeting in Geneva.

​Trade has an important role to play in addressing climate change and helping countries meet their commitments to the Paris Agreement, which entered into force on 4 November. This was the main message by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Trade Centre (ITC) at an event today (12 November) at United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP22).

This year's Review of Maritime Transport, launched on 7 November, highlights that 2015 was another difficult year for the shipping industry, with continued overcapacity and historically low freight rates.

Trade-related freight transport is expected to grow by a factor of 4.3 between 2010 and 2050, but addressing climate change requires that it become more energy efficient, an UNCTAD official said, outlining a series of solutions ahead of an UNCTAD meeting at COP 22 on freight efficiency.